I know that my Redeemer lives. I am
so grateful for His atoning sacrifice for me. He is my older brother and my best
friend. He suffered for me and knows exactly how I feel during the hardest times
and the best times. He is the only one who knows. I am glad that we are never alone;
He is always there with us with arms wide open waiting for us to come unto Him.
He is very aware of us and our needs. He suffered for our sins, so that we can be
forgiven and progress in life. We can never stray too far from the path. His Atoning
power is available to all. There is always hope for something better. We can always
be better. He helps us become the people Heavenly Father wants us to be. When we
follow Christ´s example, we are happier and receive more blessings. It is our choice
whether we want to be happy or sad in this life. To be happy, we need to follow
Heavenly Father´s commandments and then we´ll see the blessings.
I also know
without a doubt that Joseph Smith was a prophet. The First Vision was real. The
priesthood power was restored on this earth so that we could participate in saving
ordinances. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church
on the earth today. We have a living prophet named Thomas S. Monson who leads and
guides the church today. The Book of Mormon is the word of God-another testament
of Jesus Christ and it brings one closer of Him. I love it! I love this work. I
know these things to be true and I say them in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Hermana Laura Eve Johnson
This week started out as a good week
and then it got a little rough as I got food poisoning Thursday morning and then
my companion, Hermana Walker, got food poisoning Friday. We laid in bed until Sunday
when we finally got up to go to church. We prayed hard that we would have the strength
to make it to church and to work the rest of the day. After I took the sacrament
during the last hour of church, I just got a burst of energy that lasted throughout
the rest of the day as well as Hermana Walker. We were able to work hard the rest
of the day and we ended it strong. As soon as we got home, we crashed from lack
of energy and nutrition. It was a big testimony to me that this is the Lord´s work
and he will use us accordingly to bring it to pass. We needed to see the people
that we saw and to help the people we helped. It was amazing-a true miracle.
With Hermana Walker's great example,
it is getting easier for me to contact people that we see.
Before we got sick we set 3 amazing
fechas for December 15 but only one of them came to church. Sunday night we set
another amazing fecha for the 15th-totally prepared woman who has come to church
several times. Her name is Patricia and is originally from Ecuador and is the mother
of 2 recent convert teenagers. She has been to church many times but never felt
ready to be baptized. She came to church yesterday! Then we had a great lesson with
her and showed her this neat DVD called, "Reflections of Christ." She
loved it and we invited her to finally be baptized as a gift to give to Christ for
Christmas. We are praying hard for her so that she can make her decision!
The other fecha´s name is Maria, originally
from the Dominican Republic. She had the lessons in the beginning of this year but
doesn´t remember much. We taught her then she came to church for the first time
and liked it and wants to return. She is
going out of town this week, so we hope we don't lose her.
A really neat experience was last
night with a recent convert-a 10 year old girl named Dafne. She is an incredible
example for her aunt and the other women that she lives with. Her mom is in Switzerland
looking for work. Her mom is a less active member and wanted the missionaries to
teach her. Dafne was baptized towards the beginning of this year. She is so smart
and just finished reading the Book of Mormon for the first time (she started around
February when she got baptized). Last night we visited her and read some of the
Book of Mormon where she is at in Moroni. Then Hermana Walker was sweet and gave
her an old mission skirt and Dafne loved it. We then watched the "Reflections
of Christ" DVD and Dafne then gave us the biggest hug. She is normally shy
and doesn´t express her feelings much but she started saying just how grateful she
was for our visits and that she always looked forward to seeing us. It was really
a neat experience that warmed my heart.
Today Hermana Walker and I went to
this huge mall to take our Christmas pictures in front of this huge Christmas tree
and these people walked up to us asking, in English, if we were missionaries. They
just got off a cruise ship! A family from Utah-how exciting right?! They treated
us to lunch at a restaurant in the mall. It was so great talking to people from
the United States in English. It was just great to be in that culture again. They
were very sweet.
Anyway, I love you. Thanks for the
emails Mom. I will let you know when I get the package and thanks for sending it!!!
Also, thank Tiff for me for the email.
Have a good week. I love you and miss
you.
Love, Laura
Unusual "Hospilet" sign
Having lunch with cruise ship (LDS) people
Us with Dafne
Taken at local shopping
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